Regulatory and Safety Evaluation Specialty Section - Newsletter

OCCUPATIONAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALTY SECTION NEWSLETTER Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology Winter 2006

MISSION

The Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section (OPHSS) is a newly formed Section resulting from the merger of the Occupational Health and the Epidemiology Specialty Sections. The goal of the OPHSS is to advance the integration of exposure, toxicological and epidemiological principles and research approaches in addressing occupational, environmentally-related and public health issues. The OPHSS seeks to achieve this goal by: (1) identifying and encouraging integrative research to further the understanding of the impact of exposure to chemicals, pollutants and pharmaceutical drugs on the general and susceptible populations, and, in turn, (2) better informing regulatory decisions and actions that impact both individual and population health, (3) identifying and promoting the continual development and application of emerging methods, tools, and models, and (4) sponsor and support activities to attract the next generation of scientists to occupational and environmental public health.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

First of all, I would like to wish everyone a happy New Year! I look forward to the year ahead and the upcoming SOT meeting in early March. I would like to remind OPHSS members of two important events planned for the meeting.

First, Hal Zenick, OPHSS’s Vice President, will be chairing a symposium on the public and occupational health issues following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This symposium will be held on Thursday morning, March 9th. Hal has worked diligently in putting together a fantastic set of speakers and topics. I encourage everyone to support our Specialty Section by attending this interesting and very relevant session. Please consider this when making your travel plans for the meeting. Further information on this symposium is included in this newsletter.

Secondly, our specialty section will be holding a luncheon on Monday, March 6th rather than the usual evening reception. Following approval from SOT, the officers of OPHSS decided to make this change to try to increase attendance and involvement within the specialty section. A free box lunch will be provided to all who attend and make an RSVP reservation. During the luncheon, a short business meeting will be conducted followed by an “interesting and light” speaker. We hope you will join us! Further details concerning the location and the speaker will be sent out in late February with an invitation requiring an RSVP to reserve your free box lunch.

As a reminder, nominations for our student awards are due by January 15th. Please consider nominating a worthy graduate or post-doctoral student. Each winner will receive a $500 cash award and a plaque. Additional information can be found in this newsletter.

As this will be my final message as President, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve this specialty section. It has been a great experience and I encourage you to get involved and continue to make this specialty section a success. The current OPHSS officers that include Hal Zenick, Martha Moore, Bryan Hardin, Arnie Schecter, Dave Morgott and Trish Weideman have been wonderful to work with and I thank them for their support and leadership.

I look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

Sincerely, Heather Burleigh-Flayer

LATE BREAKING SESSION ON HURRICANE KATRINA—DON’T MISS IT!

Check the meeting program for the location of this special OPHSS-sponsored session which will be held on Thursday morning.

Immediate Actions and Longer Term Follow Up for Hurricane Katrina: What is the Interface between Response and Research?

Co-Chairs: Harold Zenick, Ph.D., U.S. EPA Henry Falk, M.D., MPH, CDC

Each presenter will “set the stage” by describing what conditions were encountered on the ground, initial response(s) including trade offs and follow up. They will also discuss the nature of the information/research that might better help reduce uncertainties in decision making for future disasters.

Welcome and Introduction: Hal Zenick, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, ORD/EPA, RTP, NC Henry Falk, MD, MPH, FACP (Confirmed) Director, Coordinating Center for Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, CDC

Challenges and Health Needs in New Orleans Kevin Stephens, the Director for Health, NO Department of Health

Making Timely Risk Management Decision – Need for Appropriate Health Benchmarks Bob Olexssy, Associate Director for Health, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, ORD/EPA, Cincinnati, OH

Clean up: Occupational and Public Health Risks Bruce Bernard, Chief, Medical Section, NIOSH Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH

Mold and Related Indoor Health Risks Tom Sinks, MD, MPH National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, CDC, Atlanta, GA

Assessing Damage to Coastal Ecological Resources William Benson, Ph.D., Director, Gulf Ecology Division, ORD/EPA, Gulf Breeze, Fl.

Roundtable Discussion with Audience

OPHSS Meeting in San Diego

Please check the meeting program for the location of our specialty section meeting and join us for lunch on Monday, March 6th. We will be sending an invitation for the meeting and request that you RSVP to assure your reservation for a box lunch.

Special Message to Student Members of SOT

Are you interested in nanotechnology, occupational asthma, cancer clusters, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disruptors, Sick Building Syndrome, Children's Health Initiatives, or biomonitoring? Members of the Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section (OPHSS) work on these issues as well as many others involving protecting the health of workers and the public.

One of OPHSS's goals is to improve and increase student participation in our Specialty Section. OPHSS provides students with newsletters, two student awards (Best Abstract Award and Best Manuscript Award each worth $500), and the opportunity to participate in our reception at the annual Society of Toxicology meeting. At our reception, we will be providing a "Students Only" table and the chance to meet all of the officers of OPHSS. Although OPHSS is a smaller Specialty Section, it is composed of toxicologists, epidemiologists and other occupational and public health specialists employed by a wide variety of organizations. As such, you will have the opportunity to network and find out more about careers in one of the governmental agencies, pharmaceutical companies, academia, and/or industry. OPHSS also has outreach to, and collaboration with, other related societies (e.g., ISEE, SOEH, APHA, AIHA) as part of its agenda. For more information about the OPHSS, please visit the SOT website (http://www.toxicology.org/isot/ss/specsection.asp#OPHSS) or contact our student representative, Jianyong Wang via e-mail at [email protected]. We look forward to your participation in the Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section!

CALL FOR OPHSS PRE- and Postdoctoral AWARD NOMINATIONS: Award Group SOT Occupational and Public Health SS Best Abstract Award –Pre-or Post- Award Title Doctoral Student 1. The abstract must be published in conjunction with research presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting. 2. Current Pre- or Post-Doctoral students in attendance at the 2006 Annual Meeting are eligible to compete for Student Awards. 3. The subject matter must be materially related to occupational and/or environmental public health or an associated discipline. 4. The Award Description nomination must come from a member of SOT. Submission requirements include a submission by January 15, 2006 of an extended abstract no longer than 1 page and a letter of support from the advisor outlining the student's role in the research. Platform or poster presentations are eligible. Winner Receives: Plaque and a $500 cash award. Contact: [email protected] Deadline January 15, 2006

Group SOT Occupational and Public Health SS Best Manuscript Award –Pre- or Award Title Postdoctoral Student 1. The paper must be published in a peer reviewed journal during the preceding calendar year. 2. The principal author must be a doctoral or post-doctoral student affiliated with a recognized university or research institute during the period of time that the work was being conducted. 3. Award Description The subject matter must be materially related to occupational health and/or environmental public health or an associated discipline. 4. The nomination must come from a member of SOT. 5. Submission deadline is January 15. Winner Receives: Plaque and a $500 cash award. Contact: [email protected] Deadline January 15, 2006 2006 Occupational and Public Health Sponsored Sessions at the Annual Meeting

OPPHS is the co-sponsor of seven sessions at the San Diego, SOT Meeting. Please look for these events and plan to attend!

Session Title Contact Person Presentation Type Determinants of Manganese Neurotoxicity: From Tomas Guilarte Symposium Worms to Man Integrating biomonitoring into epidemiology and Carol Burns Workshop toxicology research Advanced Technologies and Approaches for Charles Timchalk Workshop Quantitative Biological Monitoring and Modeling for Chemical Exposures Models and Mechanisms of Jean Regal Symposium Occupational/Environmental Asthma Dendritic Cells and Skin Sensitization: Biological Ian Kimber Workshop Roles and Uses in Hazard Identification The War on Ozone in the 3rd Millennium: Deepak Bhalla Symposium Toxicology and Health Effects Update Air Pollution: Vanguard Toxicological Approaches Annette Rohr Symposium Considering Atmospheric Aging

WE NEED YOUR PROPOSALS FOR THE 2007 SOT MEETING

We need proposals for continuing education courses, symposia and workshops for the 2007 SOT Meeting. Proposals will be due to SOT soon after the San Diego meeting. Please send a short summary of your proposals to Patricia Weideman ([email protected]) by February 1. We plan to have a brief discussion of all proposals at our meeting in San Diego.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN OPHSS?

If you are interested in getting involved or serving as an officer for your specialty section, please volunteer by contacting Heather Burleigh-Flayer ([email protected])

MEETINGS OF INTEREST

Dioxin 2006, will be held in Oslo, Norway. Future meetings will be in China, Japan and Texas.

The 28th International Congress on Occupational Health (www.icoh2006.it/) will be held in Milan, Italy on June 11-16, 2006.

The 97th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research will be held in Washington, D.C., April 1-5, 2006

NEW NEWS

Please send any information that you would like to see included in the next newsletter to Martha Moore at [email protected].

OPHSS Website

Jianyong Wang is our Webmaster. Please visit the newly designed website and please send comments and suggestions to Wang at either [email protected] or [email protected] .

CURRENT OFFICERS: President: Heather Burleigh-Flayer Vice President: Harold Zenick Vice President-Elect: Patricia Weideman Secretary/Treasurer: Martha Moore Councilors: Arnold Schecter Bryan Hardin Past-President David Morgott